Wall-mountable wireless remote control device

Abstract

A wall-mountable remote control device may be installed in place of an existing light switch and may be configured to transmit wireless signals to an electrical load device, such as a screw-in light-emitting diode (LED) lamp, to provide control of the electrical load device. The remote control device may comprise an air-gap switch adapted to be electrically coupled in series between a power source and the controllable light source, but may not comprise a bidirectional semiconductor switch for controlling the amount of power delivered to the electrical load device using a phase-control dimming technique. The remote control device may have a low-profile enclosure that is smaller than an enclosure of a standard dimmer switch, and thus may be easier to install in an electrical wallbox. The remote control device may comprise two parts including an air-gap switch device and a wireless communication device mounted to the air-gap switch device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electrical load control apparatus comprising:
 an enclosure conductively couplable to a power supply and an electrical load device, the enclosure including:
 a yoke extending from the enclosure to permit mounting in an electrical wallbox; 
 power supply circuitry; and 
 an air-gap switch circuitry to isolate the electrical load device from the power supply; 
 
 an adapter plate physically couplable to the yoke; and 
 a remote-control device detachably attachable to the adapter plate, the remote-control device including:
 one or more actuatable elements accessible when the remote-control device is detached from the adapter plate and when the remote control is attached to the adapter plate; and 
 wireless communication circuitry to communicate a wireless signal to control the electrical load device responsive to actuation of at least one of the one or more actuatable elements. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , the remote-control device further comprising:
 at least one energy storage device. 
 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 2 , the remote-control device further comprising:
 energy storage circuitry to receive energy from the power supply circuitry responsive to attachment of the remote-control device to the adapter plate, the energy storage circuitry operatively coupled to the at least one energy storage device. 
 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the energy storage circuitry includes wireless power transfer circuitry to wirelessly receive energy from the power supply circuitry. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the energy storage circuitry includes one or more contacts to receive energy from the power supply. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , the enclosure further comprising:
 a manual actuator coupled to a switch such that displacement of the manual actuator from a first position to a second position causes the switch to interrupt electrical continuity between the power source and the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 1 , the enclosure further comprising:
 an electro-mechanical actuator coupled to a switch, such that displacement of one of the one or more actuatable elements included in the remote-control device causes the electro-mechanical actuator to position the switch to cause an interruption in electrical continuity between the power source and the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 1 , the enclosure further comprising:
 a semiconductor switching element, such that displacement of one of the one or more actuatable elements included in the remote-control device causes the semiconductor switching element to cause an interruption in electrical continuity between the power source and the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the remote-control device further comprises:
 memory circuitry communicatively coupled to the control circuitry, the memory circuitry to store data representative of a unique identifier associated with the remote-control device. 
 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 9  wherein the wireless communication circuitry communicates a wireless signal that includes the data representative of the unique identifier associated with the remote-control device. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the remote-control device further comprises:
 indicator circuitry communicatively coupled to the control circuitry, the indicator circuitry to provide a visual indication of communication of the wireless signal to control the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein to communicate the wireless control signal to control the electrical load device, the control circuitry to further:
 communicate the wireless control signal to an intermediate device operatively coupled to the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein to communicate the wireless control signal to the intermediate device operatively coupled to the electrical load device, the control circuitry to further:
 communicate the wireless control signal to a system controller communicatively coupled to the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein to communicate the wireless control signal to control the electrical load device, the control circuitry to further:
 communicate the wireless control signal directly to the electrical load device. 
 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a faceplate detachably attachable to the adapter plate, the faceplate including an aperture to permit the passage of the remote-control through the faceplate. 
 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the wireless communication circuitry comprises at least one of: radio-frequency (RF) wireless communication circuitry, infrared (IR) wireless communication circuitry, or ultrasonic wireless communication circuitry.